- Speedpass
Speedpass is a
keychain RFID device introduced in1997 byMobil Oil Corp. (which merged withExxon to becomeExxonMobil in 1999) forelectronic payment . It was originally developed byVerifone . As of2004 , more than seven million individuals possess Speedpass tags, which can be used at approximately 10,000Exxon ,Mobil andEsso gas stations worldwide. At one point, Speedpass was deployed experimentally infast-food restaurant s andsupermarket s in select markets.McDonald's alone deployed Speedpass in over 400 Chicagoland restaurants. Additionally, Stop & Shop grocery chain tested Speedpass at their Boston area stores and removed the units in early 2005. The test was deemed a failure and McDonald's removed the scanners from all their restaurants in mid2004 . Speedpass has also been previously available through a Speedpass Car Tag and Speedpass-enabledTimex watch.Speedpass was one of the first widely deployed consumer RFID payment systems of its kind, debuting nationwide in 1997 far ahead of today's VISA and
MasterCard RFID trials, and the RFID/EPC (Electronic Product Code) privacy controversy.Technology behind the Mobil Speedpass
The ExxonMobil Speedpass is based on the
Texas Instruments TIRIS RFID platform. It was originally designed byVerifone in two configurations; one intended for installation inside the fuel dispensing "pump", and a convenience store model known as the Verifone RF250 (which was a redesign of the SC250 reader forsmart cards ).Security of the Mobil Speedpass
The ExxonMobil Speedpass uses a cryptographically-enabled tag with a
Digital Signature Transponder (DST) which incorporates a weak, proprietaryencryption scheme to perform achallenge-response protocol. On Jan 29th 2005,RSA Security and a group of students fromJohns Hopkins University broke the proprietary encryption algorithm used by the Exxon-Mobil Speedpass. [http://www.rfidanalysis.org] They were able to successfully copy a Speedpass and use the copied RFID tag to purchase gas.In an attempt to prevent fraud, Speedpass users are now required to enter their
zip code into scanners at some gas stations. [https://www.speedpass.com/forms/frmDynPage.aspx?pPg=ZipVerification.htm&pgType=N]Trivia
During the 1998 development of the RF250 convenience store reader some prototype units were shipped from Verifone in Rocklin, CA, USA to a Verifone office in Florida, USA. The units did not arrive on time and were thought to be lost in transit. They were later found, and despite each unit having a Verifone logo and being encased in boxes showing the Verifone logo; the shipping company had nothing in their lost goods database showing that name. Rather, the units turned up via a query for "flying red horse", apparently since the units displayed a small
Mobil logo--and the Mobil logo at that time was a red pegasus. The internal codename for the project was thus changed to "Flying Red Horse". Fact|date=August 2008See also
*
Loyalty program External links
* [https://www.speedpass.com/ ExxonMobil Speedpass site]
* [http://www.locator.speedpass.com/ ExxonMobil Speedpass Location Finder site]
* [http://www.businessweek.com/1997/10/b3517110.htm "Business Week", Mar. 10, 1997] (RetrievedMay 30 2007 )
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